Another voice of (airport) authority

The city of Charlotte may not be able to keep control of its airport, but local government will at least have a chance to present a study to state lawmakers before they vote on the creation of an airport authority later this spring.

So says state Rep. Ruth Samuelson, a Republican House member from Charlotte who is backing authority legislation.

This week, state Sen. Bob Rucho, a Matthews Republican, won Senate passage of a bill to create a regional authority to govern Charlotte Douglas International, sending the matter to the House.

The proposal will move at a slower clip in the House, in part to grant the city time for what is expected to be a two-month study of the pros and cons of making CLT a stand-alone entity.

“I told them I was fine with doing a study as long as the results were in in time for us to finish the bill process in the long session,” Samuelson told me on Wednesday. “And I recommended they make sure their study was done by the first of May.”

That would leave enough time for a House vote, a return to the Senate and any negotiations that might be needed in conference committee. Some local executives and state lawmakers say they want the airport separated from the city so expenses can be kept low, preserving the local US Airways Group Inc. hub.

City leaders, including the mayor and all 11 City Council members, say the airport has thrived for nearly 80 years as a division of the city. So, they ask, why fix something that isn’t broken?

“I lean toward an authority, but I’m open if we discover reasons why we shouldn’t have an authority,” Samuelson said. “Just as the City Council has a bias against the authority, I have a bias toward the authority.”